


[Don't Fear] The Reaper

by MythicalCatie



Series: Love Me Now [4]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - Prison, Angst, Dark!Link, Execution Date, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-04 19:15:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14599881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythicalCatie/pseuds/MythicalCatie
Summary: Link's execution date has arrived. On a day he's been dreading for a long time, he has some reflecting to do.





	[Don't Fear] The Reaper

It was practically only ten feet, but the walk to the death chamber was the longest that Charles Lincoln Neal III had ever taken.

Slowly but surely, things started to fall away from him. He had taken his last shower, made his last phone call, and eaten his **real** last meal, and now, he was taking his last steps. He had to be honest; it was tearing him apart. Who wouldn’t be ripped to shreds over something like this? He was on a _death march_ for Heaven’s sake.

He moved in a group with half a dozen other people, all on the “death chamber task force”, or, rather, that’s how he referred to it. There was probably a more official name, but he was sure that his sounded way cooler regardless of what it really was.

He wouldn’t do anything to anybody here and they all knew it. Killing prison officials wasn’t his gig. Never had been. But, he thought, maybe it wasn’t the smartest idea, at least in the case of other people, to let the prisoners go unshackled. Yes, the search upon arriving at the death chamber was _very_ thorough, but he’d spoken to some pretty resourceful guys in his time at San Quentin. Oh well, he supposed. Just a thought. One of his last.

Being led in and strapped down to the gurney seemed to go even slower, though he knew that the task force made quick work of securing his binds.

From there, all that was left to do on his part was endure the wait. The long, agonizing wait until the drugs were ready and flowed through his veins like water in the sea. Of thirty-nine years in his life, he knew it’d be the longest minutes he’d ever experienced.

He tried to occupy his time by looking around the room, but there wasn’t much to see. Well, until his eyes caught Rhett’s. Then, there was plenty.

The blond was standing behind what was, apparently, two way glass, tears welling in his eyes as he watched the proceedings lead closer and closer to the end of a life he loved so dearly.

Link wanted to raise his hand to wave, but that was strapped down, too, so he settled for smiling sympathetically at his husband and trying to put himself in the shoes of the soon-to-be widower. Unfortunately, those weren’t some of the most pleasant final thoughts to have.

He would have to do everything by himself. Live his life. All of it. Go about his daily tasks knowing that Link was gone and never coming back. Raise his kids, **their** kids, without help (at least not from him, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t been doing that for the past decade anyway.) Remember him and have an ache in his chest each and every time. Cry over his photos in the middle of the night and miss him so much he would be willing to die just to be with him if it weren’t for their children, some of whom he could see Link in (and that just made it hurt even more.) He would be **alone** , and there was nothing that he or Link could do about it. He was **dying** and there was nothing that he could do.

It seemed to hurt Rhett even more when Link smiled at him, so he tried to look away, but just couldn't resist the sight of him.

Of course, Rhett was trying to take in the sight of Link’s face because he knew that it was the last that he would get of it, but it was still painful to see. Painful to know that it would be the last time that he would be able to look at the man that he had loved for so long.

It felt like an eternity before Link was asked for his last words. He had given it much thought and decided on something more simple. He had always been a simple man with simple rules and decided that simple words were the way to go out. So, with everybody watching him and him watching nobody but one, he provided the final words that he would ever speak.

“See you in your dreams, baby boy,” he said, staring directly past Rhett’s eyes and into his soul. It killed Rhett to hear, and Link could see him begin to sob. He was almost sure that if he had said anything else, Rhett would crumble under his own weight. Thankfully, that was all that was on his mind.

Link stared at him and did not see anything else surrounding either of them, even though what must have been forty people had come to watch him die. He was just so focused on those forest green eyes and the way that he could feel himself surrender to them. The way that he could feel himself start to die even before the drugs entered his system because if he didn’t know it already, those eyes told him that this was really it.

He laid there waiting for the drugs to come, but they never did, because the phone rang and his entire life changed.

The warden was the one to answer it and he was very confused. Even Link noticed that much because he was now looking at the phone instead of Rhett. He was watching the call unfold because he just had a feeling that he'd be able to see those forest green eyes once again.

The man on the phone raised his eyebrows and his face scrunched up. This rarely ever happened. something like this and for somebody like Link… Well, it was practically unheard of. That said, the warden could understand why now and why him.

“Yes sir. Yes, I understand, sir,” the warden said, and then hung the phone on the wall once again.

With just over three dozen people watching and able to hear the words in the chamber the warden look directly at Link and said, “Son, you’ve just been pardoned.”  


End file.
